Cobb Salad

2012 Here We Come!

2012 is almost here!! I want to tell you about two things you won't regret doing next year. It may be hard at times but it will be so worth it!

1. Read through the Bible in a year. Here is a link to the Bible reading plan that we are following. I like this particular one because it includes old and new testament readings for each day and there are five make-up days at the end of each month. It is so worth doing every year! Join us at the Emmaus Project for an online discussion. You will receive emails from others about what they are reading and can ask questions about what you just read. The purpose of the Emmaus Project is to "...find and fellowship with Christ in all of Scripture."

2. My second recommendation is Project 365. Take a picture every day for a year! I am just finishing this (2 more days to go!!!) and am so glad I did it!! If you have a good camera phone (iPhone) it makes the project 10 times easier because it can be a pain toting your camera everywhere. I have barely touched my nice Nikon since getting the iPhone! I love the camera on the phone and it has fun filter apps and it is always on me. For the Project 365 I have been storing my pictures on Flickr (just a click of a button on my phone and they are stored there) and then later I upload them to Blurb to make my book ( you can use Shutterfly or one of the other photo companies too). I did 2011 in 2 volumes. I used a regular Blub book for January- June and then the second volume is going to be Blurb's Instagram book because that is where I do all my photos now. I wanted to quit several times but it is so worth it in the end. Mason and Miles LOVE looking at the Project 365 photo book! There are so many great memories!!

Here is a picture of my first book:

Happy New Year!

Murrieta Veteran's Day Parade

I darted out the door this morning with the kids to see our town's parade.  It was totally spur of the moment.  This was the first year we went.  I can't  believe I have never been before.  It was awesome!!  I am so thankful for the men and women who serve and protect our nation!!!

 

 

 

Peltzer Farm

Ellie posed like this on her own.  I heard her saying "cheese".  I turned around and saw her sitting like this.  Too cute!!!

Little Evie is so adorable!

She was VERY determined to pick this one up.  "I can do it all by MYSELF".  She is too funny!!!

I thought we were past the "put everything in the mouth stage"...

 

Sorry, Ellie.  Life is not all rainbows and butterflies.

 

The boys LOVE Eli.

 

The Most Important Work You Will Ever Do

I am so thankful for my husband in how he leads our family to continually grow in knowledge and love for God more and more.  And I am very thankful for being able to be home with my children.  I get the joy of hearing their many questions about what they experience in life and their questions about God and turn them to the Bible.  What a challenge and a joy!  I'm humbled and honored to be used by God.

I read this great blog post about pastoring your family.  Here is a small bit of it but go read the rest.  It is encouraging!

"Husbands/dads, this is the most important work you'll ever do, and it will have more impact than anything you could imagine. Wives/moms, encourage your man to lead; create conditions in which he can succeed. Couples, be patient and forgiving. Don't be short-sighted. Love well. And savor your time together. May God help us pastor our families well." 

Please read the rest of this encouraging brief article written by Justin Hyde on  how he pastors his family by clicking here.  As our boys have gotten older (now 6 and 8) Erick takes each boy to Starbucks for one on one weekly discipleship time too.   As you can imagine with  6 and 8 year old boys, not every time is a picturesque tranquil scene, but every time has been an opportunity to point their heart to God and has been so valuable.  There are many great books to help you direct your time and discussions.  I have a few of our favorites posted on my blog (under the Kids list).

Beach Vacation

We had the best vacation ever!  We stayed at a house on the beach for a week and totally relaxed.  We all had so much fun.  I didn't want to leave!!!

 

 

 

Dolphins!  We saw them most of the days there.  They were swimming right next to the surfers!  The first day we saw them they were jumping in the waves.  So cool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this guy!

 

 

 

 

 

This is shot above is by Renee.  The Whites came and hung out one of the days  :-)

And look who turned 6 while we were at the beach!!!!  We love you, Miles!

She Is Crazy About Him

Easter 2010

Sweet day today :-)  My parents, my brother's family, Erick's parents and grandparents, and some friends from our midweek home group came.  After lunch Erick read the resurrection story to the kids and then we had an egg hunt.  My mom had 120 eggs!!!!  Lots of fun.

The cousins

Girlfriends

Lucy

Ellie knew exactly what to do.  So cute!

Don't they look like sisters?!!

 

 

 

 

 

Wesley, Mason, and Miles.  Cool guys.

Lovely ladies :-)

Jeri and Mom.  Love you!

Smitten By This Guy 20 Years Ago!

20 years ago I was smitten by this handsome and funny guy and we started dating!  You can read a little more of our story from a post I wrote 2 years ago by clicking here.  I love Erick more and more each year.  Erick is a godly leader to our family, protects me, and loves me.  I am so very thankful to God for Erick!

Camping With The Arings

We went camping with my parents and my brother's family at Dos Picos Park in San Diego County.  I grew up camping a lot with my family but have not done much camping the past 12 years.  I have gotten spoiled with nice hotels that will bring you cool drinks by the pool  :-)  The boys keep asking about camping and in a moment of weakness I said sure.  Camping with a 1 year old is taking it to a whole new level!!!  Actually it went way better than I thought.  Beside the fact that we did not sleep at all we still had a ton of fun!!! Camping with kids is a lot of work but is also a lot more fun!!!  Kids are excited about everything and they had nonstop fun!!  It was the perfect campground for the kids.  There was so much for them to do.  There was a tree right in our camp site that they could climb, they rode their bikes a lot, there was fishing, a giant playground, and hiking trails.  It is great that my brother's kids are so close in age to our kids.  Thanks for the great time mom, dad, Craig and Jeri!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open House

The boys had Open House at their school last night.  They were so excited to show us their classrooms and all of their projects.  They have both been working very hard and are doing great!  Erick's mom was able to drive up too.

 

 

 

 

Mason and his teacher.

Sleepy Ellie

 

Laughing at a video of themselves